§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the advance factories announced on 13th January 1973 will be built in the North-West Region; what is the percentage allocation to the region in terms of total square footage; and how many people work in the North-West Region as a percentage of the total labour force in all assisted areas.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantThe four factories to be built in the North-West Region represent 7.7 per cent. of the total programme in terms of numbers of factories and 5.8 per cent. in terms of area. People working in the whole of the North-West Region constitute about 29 per cent. of the insured employees in all assisted areas but one of the criteria for allocations under the new programme was unemployment rather than insured employment. Unemployment in the North-West Region is substantially less than that prevailing in areas that received a greater allocation.